Cable television (CATV) systems are used to deliver television services to a vast majority of TV-viewing homes in the U.S. and other technologically advanced countries. The typical CATV system has a cable service provider head end equipped with video servers to transmit CATV program signals through distribution lines to local nodes and from there to TV subscriber homes. Within the subscriber homes, the CATV program signals are transmitted to one or more customer-premises TVs which are coupled to external set-top boxes for channel tuning or are equipped with internal cable channel tuners.
Current CATV set-top boxes provide various functions for channel switching and program access between subscribers and the CATV head end. The more advanced digital set-top boxes are individually addressable from the CATV head end, and also allow subscribers to input via remote control units their selection inputs for transmission on a back channel of the connecting cable to the CATV head end, thereby enabling subscribers to access interactive television services and other types of advanced digital TV services. A primary type of interactive television system is referred to generally as a “video-on-demand” (VOD) system, wherein a viewer can enter a selection choice for a video program via the remote control unit to the set-top box and have the desired video program delivered instantaneously for display on the TV. Such VOD applications can include on-demand movies, documentaries, historic sports events, TV programs, infomercials, advertisements, music videos, short-subjects, and even individual screen displays of information. VOD-based interactive television services generally allow a viewer to use the remote control to cursor through an on-screen menu and select from a variety of titles for stored video programs for individual viewing on demand. Advanced remote control units include button controls with VCR-like functions that enable the viewer to start, stop, pause, rewind, or replay a selected video program or segment. In the future, VOD-based interactive television services may be integrated with or delivered with other advanced interactive television services, such as webpage browsing, e-mail, television purchase (“t-commerce”) transactions, and multimedia delivery.
With the increasing interactive functionality and customer reach of interactive television services, advertisers and content providers are find it increasingly attractive to employ on-demand advertising, program content, and TV transactions for home viewers. VOD content delivery platforms are being designed to seamlessly and conveniently deliver a wide range of types of advertising, content, and transaction services on demand to home viewers. An example of an advanced VOD delivery platform is the N-Band (TM) system offered by Navic Systems, Inc., d/b/a Navic Networks, of Needham, Mass. This is an integrated system which provides an application development platform for third party application developers to develop new VOD service applications, viewer interfaces, and ancillary interactive services for deployment on VOD channels of CATV operators in cable service areas throughout the U.S. A detailed description of the Navic N-Band system is contained in U.S. Patent Application 2002/066,106, filed on May 30, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Advanced digital set-top boxes also have the ability to collect data such as a log of channels tuned to and programs watched by the viewer. The set top box can be designed to collect and report this data automatically to the cable head end. At the head end location, the viewer data can be aggregated over many users with personally identifying data removed, and provided to advertisers and program sponsors for information in designing and targeting new ads and programs for viewer preferences, thereby resulting in increased viewership, higher viewer impressions per ad or program, and ultimately increased revenues.
Current VOD ads and program offerings are generally produced for mass audiences. It would be particularly desirable to adapt a VOD delivery platform to deliver ads, promotions, programs, and informational content by allowing viewers to navigate readily and visually to specific items of interest. Such visual navigation for content delivery would be more likely to create a satisfying viewer experience, and also to engage individual viewers in on-demand TV services and transactions. It would also be a particularly desirable to adapt a VOD delivery platform to receive uploads of user ads from individuals such as through an online network for search, navigation, and display to TV subscribers.